Orlando Magic 2024-25 season preview: Can they keep rising up the East?

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)The 2024-25 NBA season has officially arrived! Here we cover some of the major questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy outlooks of each of its 30 teams. Experience Orlando Magic 2023-24 season Off Season Moves (Add: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cory Joseph and Tristan Da Silva, subtracted: Markelle Fultz, Joe Ingles and Chuma Okeke);complete rosterThe Big Question for Orlando MAGIC 2024-24 finish is this: Are Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner the building blocks to become title contenders? Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stands as one of the premier complementary role players in NBA. Once a team’s leadership believes it can compete at an acceptable level, this type of player becomes necessary. Look at what happened with Caldwell-Pope for proof — whether that be with Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, or Denver Nuggets in 2023! Caldwell-Pope joins All-Defensive guard Jalen Suggs as one of the premier defensive backcourts in NBA. Cole Anthony provides instant offense and Gary Harris contributes veteran presence, two guards so talented that Orlando chose not to re-sign former No. 1. Markelle Fultz was selected No.1 overall pick by the Magic in 2018. Center Wendell Carter Jr, Moe Wagner, Jonathan Isaac and Goga Bitadze provide shooting ability, defensive support and power throughout their rosters. Carter may best represent all three roles; however, Isaac could become one of the game’s premier defensive players per minute when healthy. Paolo Banchero (#5) and Franz Wagner (#22) experienced their inaugural NBA playoff appearance last season. Jamahl Mosley, last season’s runner-up for Coach of the Year award, has options open to him when selecting his assistant coach of this upcoming campaign. At least for this season, none of them will matter much without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner ready to lead them. Banchero made All-Star status last season at just 21 years old while averaging 23-7-5 on 46/34/73 shooting splits – impressive numbers indeed. He possesses all of the tools to become an exceptional playmaker from forward position. No player in history has been so difficult to stop from getting to the rim at such an early age, yet few can stop him getting there now. He could improve his shooting efficiency across the board; particularly on pull-up jumpers where his shooting percentage dropped below 40% last season (32.88% from 3). Imagine what could happen when defenses don’t know whether to guard his drive or his shot – such moments resemble LeBron. However, for his playmaking to truly become one of basketball’s elite No.1s he must improve further as well. At 21, Wagner appeared destined for an All-Star selection – until his jump shot failed him last season and registered 28.1% 3-point shooting percentage out of 4.6 attempts per game, shattering his confidence. Even so, Wagner managed an average 20-5-4 record on 57% true shooting last season. Banchero and Wagner’s development is linked; as Banchero gains more respect from Wagner, so does her freedom of operation increase. Caldwell-Pope and Suggs will force defenses into rotating quickly as they try to stop the ball while trying to account for Caldwell-Pope and Suggs and other shooters around them. Defensively, the Magic are solid. Rarely have so many young teams performed as effectively on defense last season as did Orlando. They were tall and versatile players who played hard for their coach. In seven-games against Cleveland Cavaliers they averaged 91.5 points per game during those four losses. Banchero and Wagner are key members of their offense that is holding back this team; together they averaged 45.9 points, 15.5 rebounds, 8.4 assists per game during their inaugural playoff series – figures any team would appreciate from two rookie players still under contract. Wagner will become eligible to sign his max contract next season while Banchero can start theirs in 2026. Rebuilding around them becomes more challenging with each passing season, so Orlando made sure they added Caldwell-Pope now as part of an otherwise unchanged supporting cast. Now is also an opportune moment for Orlando as Banchero and Wagner must also step forward for them to have any hope at taking an ambitious leap this season.Ideally, even an ineffective offensive performance coupled with solid defense would push their net rating up to 4.7, placing the Magic third among East teams last season. With their top-10 offensive attack, the Magic may be poised for a top seed this year’s playoffs – they came within one win or one bad third quarter from reaching Round Two last time out! Banchero and Wagner can lead the team to victory if everything falls together; Suggs, Carter and Caldwell-Pope would provide assistance as needed; Orlando will likely reach its conference finals early. Otherwise, everything falls apart, including Wagner. If this occurs then Banchero cannot shoot without hitting one shot out of three attempts on target (Wagner cannot shoot). Now more questions than ever exist as to whether Wagner can ever become an impact player for an elite club — let alone meet the value of his $224 million contract — while Banchero continues his slump as neither shooter or playmaker. No matter which centers they recruit, none can fulfill the role as a true Playoff Guy. Defense has shown its shortcomings by losing momentum during key games and turning potentially winnable ones into losses, eventually falling to playing-in battles for play-in spots. On top of all that is a fantasy spin suggesting too much weight being put onto Paolo Banchero in category formats. Banchero deserves consideration as a second-round selection in points leagues; however, his high turnover rate, lack of threes or blocks and middling free throw percentage make him unattractive in category formats; in 2015-16, Banchero finished as one of the lowest ranked All-Stars (159th) when selected using category formats. I don’t mean to discourage you from draft him; just know that his true value lies elsewhere. That being said, getting Playoff Paolo early could prove immensely interesting; make sure Jalen Suggs makes your team! Suggs’ move to point guard should increase his assist rate after already making strides as a 3-point threat and lockdown defender, outperforming his current ninth-round ADP of pick 100. — Dan Titus2024-25 scheduleThey won 47 games last season while adding Caldwell-Pope, so any collective improvement from their young core should catapult them further upward. Take the over!